2017 was a fun year at the movie theater, with a variety of engaging films filling up the Top 10. So let's get to it, with some quick house-cleaning to do first...
A Blast from the Past: My Top 10 Movies of 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009
10 Potential Listbusters (some films I didn't see, but heard were good): All the Money in the World, Call Me By Your Name, The Florida Project, I Tonya, Lady Bird, Molly’s Game, Mudbound, Phantom Thread, Roman J. Israel Esq., Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
15 Honorable Mentions: American Made, Annabelle: Creation, Boss Baby, Darkest Hour, The Greatest Showman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, IT, Logan, Logan Lucky, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Shape of Water, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
And now onto the feature presentation…
My Top 10 Movies of 2017:
My Top 10 Movies of 2017:
10. The Big Sick
Pakistan-born comedian Kumail and grad student Emily fall in love, but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.
Perhaps the biggest advantage The Big Sick has going for it is just how heartfelt of a film it really is. In a world often darkened by the harshest of news, it is a relief to meet characters who simply, yet deeply, care for one another. Real issues of culture, love, honesty, and loyalty are confronted, but at the root of each conflict is an abiding sense of tender compassion and devotion. The film is a tad long and a bit predictable in parts, but delivers the true-story of Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and Emily V. Gordon (Crashing) -- who wrote the screenplay themselves -- with endearing charm and earnest performances.
A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that could threaten all life on Earth, unless they can stop it.
The basic premise of Life may not be all that different from Alien or other movies about being trapped in a confined space with an evolving monster, but what really elevates this film is the intelligence of its script. While generic horror flicks have characters who make maddeningly stupid decisions that will obviously get them killed, Life provides very smart protagonists who actually make strategic decisions about their survival. This makes it even more terrifying when the alien threat continues to find and pursue them. With a stellar cast and strong direction, Life is a taut and thrilling little film that I would love to see get a sequel.
A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.
We’re one year into the Trump administration and while he continues to put himself on the ugliest and most despicable side of every issue, including race, sexual assault, immigration, and gun violence, his unsettling worldview is proliferated beyond himself by, in part, an increasing assault on fact-based journalism. This assault has thrown into sharp relief the overall message of The Post: the importance of journalism in holding immoral leaders accountable. This message doesn’t work solely due to its position in the modern zeitgeist, but is also elevated by compelling performances from its ensemble cast and capable navigation from its veteran director.
Imprisoned on the other side of the universe along with a group of unlikely allies, Thor finds himself in a race against time to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his homeworld at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.
While I enjoy superhero movies, it’s not often that I rank them among my Top 10 Movies of the Year (a list which, in my view, should not only contain movies that are the most fun, but also those that are the most gripping, emotionally-stirring, or unique). In 2012, The Avengers took first place on my list for accomplishing a franchise crossover feat that had never been attempted at such a scale. Now, five years later, Thor: Ragnarok is earning my critical praise for taking a known character in unknown directions through zany humor and sharp wit that clearly reflect a greater freedom in storytelling than the studio had perhaps allowed in the past. At times, the film can go a bit too far in its silliness, which can take you out of the moment, but overall Thor: Ragnarok is a breath of fresh air in the genre.
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
The second of three thrillers on this list (2017 was a good year for horror movies), Get Out adds both comedy and social critique to its frights, creating a complex and interesting film that is as subversive as it is scary. By offering gallows-humor commentary on a twisted form of racism that manifests as paranoid resentment and bigoted envy, the film creates an uncomfortable aura that transcends its jump-scares and lingers with you long after the credits roll. Ultimately, Get Out is a phenomenal feature film debut for writer/director Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and is one of the more entertaining movies released this year.
Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.
The M. Night Shyamalan renaissance (the Shyamalaissance?) has arrived. The filmmaker made a name for himself with early thrillers such as The Sixth Sense and Signs, but suffered a subsequent setback in reputation with widely-panned features like The Happening and The Last Airbender. Shyamalan’s career seemed tarnished. But then, in 2015, he quietly produced the popular first season of Wayward Pines and directed the effective horror flick, The Visit. With this year’s powerful thriller, Split, it’s now safe to say Shyamalan’s comeback is in full swing. The writer/director’s sharp script is brought to life by a funny and frightful tour de force performance from James McAvoy. With Split's unexpected connection to a previous Shyamalan film, an apparent trilogy-capper -- Glass -- is now set for January, 2019. And I can’t wait.
An adaptation of the fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.
Disney has been pumping out live-action adaptations in recent years (preceding a deluge more on the way), with generally pedestrian, but pleasant-enough results like Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and Pete’s Dragon. Last year’s The Jungle Book heightened expectations as an enthralling synthesis of storytelling and revolutionary CGI. Now, Beauty & the Beast has elevated the genre even further, with phenomenal production quality and spirited performances that pay heavy homage to the 1991 animated film, but also advance the tale in new and creative ways. Emma Watson was perfectly cast as Belle and, with Alan Menken’s involvement, it was pretty much a given that the music would be as beautiful, rousing, and fun as ever. Never short on artistry and spectacle, Beauty & the Beast is great entertainment.
When an aspiring film actor meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.
There’s two kinds of people: those who have watched the cult-classic, so-bad-it’s-good film The Room, and those who have not. For viewers who have revelled in the absurdities of The Room, The Disaster Artist is especially fun to watch. And yet the movie is still entertaining and accessible to those who have never seen The Room, which makes The Disaster Artist a particularly impressive, if still charmingly peculiar, story. James Franco is striking as Tommy Wiseau, capturing the enigmatic director’ s infamous quirks and oddities without seeming like a caricature. The plot, too, is almost graceful in its exploration of all the bumps that occurred along the road in the making of The Room. Combine all that with some truly funny humor, and The Disaster Artist is one of the more interesting films to come out this year.
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
From 1995 through 2017, Pixar has released 2 bad movies, 5 decent flicks, and 12 phenomenally crafted films. That’s an incredibly impressive production record. I’ll let you guess which movies fall into the former categories, but clearly Coco sits here in the Top 10 -- one spot away from being the best feature of the year -- as one of those outstanding modern-day classics from the renowned animation studio. While the visuals are as dazzling as we’d expect from Pixar, the narrative too is both philosophical and provocative, dealing with notions of of life and death as thoughtfully as Insight Out explored the intricacies of the mind. By exploring these issues through the frames of family, culture, and music, Coco manages to have fun while also revealing the nuanced beauty of human connection and mortality. You’ll tap your feet along to “Remember Me” and, yes, there’s a good chance you may cry. It is Pixar, after all.
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
More than an ordinary heist film, Baby Driver has its own unique style and attitude that elevate it far above typical genre tropes. Two qualities, in particular, set the film apart from its contemporaries. First, the characters are more interesting than the job they plan to pull. That is not to say that the plot is uninteresting; far from it. Instead, the story is is driven (pun intended) by dynamic individuals in whom we are invested, rather than by a rigid plan-of-action that allows only for static participants. Second, the action, especially the driving sequences, are marvelously choreographed by writer-director Edgar Wright (The World's End), who intricately coordinated every single tire screech and gun shot with the film's soundtrack, giving Baby Driver a breathless sense of excitement and momentum. This seemingly flawless technical effort is a true cinematic accomplishment which, when combined with perfectly written and acted characters, makes Baby Driver a top film that is not to be missed.
Perhaps the biggest advantage The Big Sick has going for it is just how heartfelt of a film it really is. In a world often darkened by the harshest of news, it is a relief to meet characters who simply, yet deeply, care for one another. Real issues of culture, love, honesty, and loyalty are confronted, but at the root of each conflict is an abiding sense of tender compassion and devotion. The film is a tad long and a bit predictable in parts, but delivers the true-story of Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and Emily V. Gordon (Crashing) -- who wrote the screenplay themselves -- with endearing charm and earnest performances.
9. Life
A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that could threaten all life on Earth, unless they can stop it.
The basic premise of Life may not be all that different from Alien or other movies about being trapped in a confined space with an evolving monster, but what really elevates this film is the intelligence of its script. While generic horror flicks have characters who make maddeningly stupid decisions that will obviously get them killed, Life provides very smart protagonists who actually make strategic decisions about their survival. This makes it even more terrifying when the alien threat continues to find and pursue them. With a stellar cast and strong direction, Life is a taut and thrilling little film that I would love to see get a sequel.
8. The Post
A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.
We’re one year into the Trump administration and while he continues to put himself on the ugliest and most despicable side of every issue, including race, sexual assault, immigration, and gun violence, his unsettling worldview is proliferated beyond himself by, in part, an increasing assault on fact-based journalism. This assault has thrown into sharp relief the overall message of The Post: the importance of journalism in holding immoral leaders accountable. This message doesn’t work solely due to its position in the modern zeitgeist, but is also elevated by compelling performances from its ensemble cast and capable navigation from its veteran director.
7. Thor 3
Imprisoned on the other side of the universe along with a group of unlikely allies, Thor finds himself in a race against time to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his homeworld at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.
While I enjoy superhero movies, it’s not often that I rank them among my Top 10 Movies of the Year (a list which, in my view, should not only contain movies that are the most fun, but also those that are the most gripping, emotionally-stirring, or unique). In 2012, The Avengers took first place on my list for accomplishing a franchise crossover feat that had never been attempted at such a scale. Now, five years later, Thor: Ragnarok is earning my critical praise for taking a known character in unknown directions through zany humor and sharp wit that clearly reflect a greater freedom in storytelling than the studio had perhaps allowed in the past. At times, the film can go a bit too far in its silliness, which can take you out of the moment, but overall Thor: Ragnarok is a breath of fresh air in the genre.
6. Get Out
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
The second of three thrillers on this list (2017 was a good year for horror movies), Get Out adds both comedy and social critique to its frights, creating a complex and interesting film that is as subversive as it is scary. By offering gallows-humor commentary on a twisted form of racism that manifests as paranoid resentment and bigoted envy, the film creates an uncomfortable aura that transcends its jump-scares and lingers with you long after the credits roll. Ultimately, Get Out is a phenomenal feature film debut for writer/director Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and is one of the more entertaining movies released this year.
5. Split
Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.
The M. Night Shyamalan renaissance (the Shyamalaissance?) has arrived. The filmmaker made a name for himself with early thrillers such as The Sixth Sense and Signs, but suffered a subsequent setback in reputation with widely-panned features like The Happening and The Last Airbender. Shyamalan’s career seemed tarnished. But then, in 2015, he quietly produced the popular first season of Wayward Pines and directed the effective horror flick, The Visit. With this year’s powerful thriller, Split, it’s now safe to say Shyamalan’s comeback is in full swing. The writer/director’s sharp script is brought to life by a funny and frightful tour de force performance from James McAvoy. With Split's unexpected connection to a previous Shyamalan film, an apparent trilogy-capper -- Glass -- is now set for January, 2019. And I can’t wait.
4. Beauty & the Beast
An adaptation of the fairy tale about a monstrous-looking prince and a young woman who fall in love.
Disney has been pumping out live-action adaptations in recent years (preceding a deluge more on the way), with generally pedestrian, but pleasant-enough results like Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and Pete’s Dragon. Last year’s The Jungle Book heightened expectations as an enthralling synthesis of storytelling and revolutionary CGI. Now, Beauty & the Beast has elevated the genre even further, with phenomenal production quality and spirited performances that pay heavy homage to the 1991 animated film, but also advance the tale in new and creative ways. Emma Watson was perfectly cast as Belle and, with Alan Menken’s involvement, it was pretty much a given that the music would be as beautiful, rousing, and fun as ever. Never short on artistry and spectacle, Beauty & the Beast is great entertainment.
3. The Disaster Artist
When an aspiring film actor meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.
There’s two kinds of people: those who have watched the cult-classic, so-bad-it’s-good film The Room, and those who have not. For viewers who have revelled in the absurdities of The Room, The Disaster Artist is especially fun to watch. And yet the movie is still entertaining and accessible to those who have never seen The Room, which makes The Disaster Artist a particularly impressive, if still charmingly peculiar, story. James Franco is striking as Tommy Wiseau, capturing the enigmatic director’ s infamous quirks and oddities without seeming like a caricature. The plot, too, is almost graceful in its exploration of all the bumps that occurred along the road in the making of The Room. Combine all that with some truly funny humor, and The Disaster Artist is one of the more interesting films to come out this year.
2. Coco
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.
From 1995 through 2017, Pixar has released 2 bad movies, 5 decent flicks, and 12 phenomenally crafted films. That’s an incredibly impressive production record. I’ll let you guess which movies fall into the former categories, but clearly Coco sits here in the Top 10 -- one spot away from being the best feature of the year -- as one of those outstanding modern-day classics from the renowned animation studio. While the visuals are as dazzling as we’d expect from Pixar, the narrative too is both philosophical and provocative, dealing with notions of of life and death as thoughtfully as Insight Out explored the intricacies of the mind. By exploring these issues through the frames of family, culture, and music, Coco manages to have fun while also revealing the nuanced beauty of human connection and mortality. You’ll tap your feet along to “Remember Me” and, yes, there’s a good chance you may cry. It is Pixar, after all.
1. Baby Driver
After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
More than an ordinary heist film, Baby Driver has its own unique style and attitude that elevate it far above typical genre tropes. Two qualities, in particular, set the film apart from its contemporaries. First, the characters are more interesting than the job they plan to pull. That is not to say that the plot is uninteresting; far from it. Instead, the story is is driven (pun intended) by dynamic individuals in whom we are invested, rather than by a rigid plan-of-action that allows only for static participants. Second, the action, especially the driving sequences, are marvelously choreographed by writer-director Edgar Wright (The World's End), who intricately coordinated every single tire screech and gun shot with the film's soundtrack, giving Baby Driver a breathless sense of excitement and momentum. This seemingly flawless technical effort is a true cinematic accomplishment which, when combined with perfectly written and acted characters, makes Baby Driver a top film that is not to be missed.
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